Steve Harper was part of the last Hull City side to reach the business end of a Cup competition.

Steve Bruce’s class of 2014 saw off Middlesbrough, Brighton and Sunderland on their way to the FA Cup final as a city rallied to the cause of a club it felt were going places. It was the same year Newcastle fans went to war with Alan Pardew as discontent festered at St James’ Park.

Fast-forward two years and it is Newcastle who are United while Harper witnesses apathy and opprobrium at the KCOM Stadium.

While United will pack out the away end and the bars at the stadium will be bursting with fans watching a beam-back of the game, Hull can barely sell half of the tickets for a game with plenty at stake. It is an atmosphere which could overshadow the game.

“It is noticeably different from when I was playing at Hull. The atmosphere around Hull is not great – the ownership and that feeling of disconnect between the fans and the owner is contributing to the empty seats at the stadium,” he said.

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“When I was there I played in every round of the FA Cup barring the final of that run and I saw how the fans got behind the team and made that stadium a difficult place to play for opponents.

“It can be a great place to play but I don’t think it’s going to be full and that will make it a different atmosphere from the one that I played in. Newcastle might think it gives them a chance.”

The stark contrast in how Newcastle fans are feeling is appreciated by Harper, a man who talked of the club dying a death “by a thousand cuts” the last time they were relegated.

Those comments came from a frustration at the way the club he knew as well as anyone was stagnating – and were repeated after he left Newcastle. Under Rafa Benitez finally it feels like a club moving in the right direction.

“A lot of positive moves have been made by the club and you can tell that connection between fans and the club is improving again,” he says.

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“I think the fans appreciate the club have gone out on a limb and appointed a proven manager with a fantastic, world class reputation. You can see there’s excitement again at the possibility of what is going to come next and that’s been missing for a while.

“Once Newcastle gets turned around and heading in the right direction we have seen before how quickly they can generate some momentum. It feels like that now.”

Harper has seen Hull three times this season in his new role as a referee’s assessor for the Premier League. He does not anticipate them going for the jugular.

“I’ve seen them beat Leicester and Southampton and they got a decent point against West Brom,” he said.

“They’re quite a cagey side and they definitely grew into the game on Saturday. It will be interesting to see whether they change that for Newcastle but it’s certainly the way they’ve been playing this season.”

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Since leaving Sunderland in the summer, Harper has rejoined United to work with their Academy goalkeepers and after a six-month period of doing little – “It was torture” – he is now back coaching, studying and pursuing business interests.

But he’s enjoyed passing on his experience to the next generation of ‘keepers. “It’s been great to be back at the club. There’s some real talent among the goalkeepers I’m working with and I’m enjoying being a sounding board for them,” he said.